Wild Card

Third-place Pacific League finishes and wild-card postseason games are certainly something the Crescenta Valley High baseball team is not accustomed to. And, while the Falcons might have struggled by program standards this season, on Tuesday, they did, in fact, prove they still belong in the postseason. Behind a steady stream of contributions from all over the diamond, Crescenta Valley held off host Righetti for a 5-4 victory in a CIF Southern Section Division II wild-card game.

OXNARD — Facing a foe that was a defending champion disguised as a wild-card entry, when Glendale High’s boys’ soccer team left Rio Mesa High on Tuesday afternoon, in many ways history had repeated itself from a season prior. “We just got a repeat of the same thing last year. …They’re a really good team,” said Nitros Coach Tulio Marroquin of Rio Mesa. “I think our league is good, but it’s not the way it is up here. “They took advantage of every opportunity.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — For the Flintridge Prep girls' soccer team, Wednesday's match was worthy of its wild-card billing — until the very end, it was anyone's game for the taking. The Rebels scored a come-from-behind, 2-1, overtime victory in their CIF Southern Section Division III wild-card game against Righetti, and will play at Santa Monica, the Ocean League champion, in the first round of the playoffs on Friday. Sophomore midfielder Michelle Bigony poked in the game-winning goal on the carom of a deflected shot by teammate Lauren Von Der Ahe, with just seconds remaining in the first of two 10-minute overtime periods.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Tuesday night just kept getting better and better for the Glendale Adventist Academy girls' volleyball team. After struggling to edge past visiting Apple Valley Christian in the first game, the Cougars' task at hand got easier as the match went on en route to a 25-22, 25-18, 25-15 victory in a CIF Southern Section Division V-AA wild card match at Glendale Adventist. "They got it warmed up a little as the games went along," said Cougars Coach Bianka Tulgar, whose team advanced to the first round of the playoffs on Thursday, when it will travel to face La Verne Lutheran.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE ? In a nutshell, the Glendale High boys? basketball team went cold at the worst possible time. Glendale Coach Steve Snodgress might have summed it up best after the Nitros saw their season conclude Wednesday night with a 68-56 loss to visiting Troy in a CIF Southern Section Division II-AA wild-card game. ?We jumped into the elevator, and then hit the down button,? said Snodgress, whose team surrendered 31 fourth-quarter points. ?It was our worst quarter played in a long time.

Flintridge Sacred Heart beat Arroyo Grande today at the Glendale Sports Complex, 6-0, in the wild card round to advance to the first round of the CIF-SS Div. III playoffs. Jessica Ferri put a little extra oomph on the ball, striking out 15 in seven innings. ?This was our second time in the playoffs, the last game we lost in the first round, so we?ve definitely come farther than any other team [in FSHA softball history]. It?s something to be proud of and we want to keep doing what we?

GLENDALE — When the CIF Southern Section Division II baseball playoff pairings were released, neither Hoover High Coach Joe Cotti or St. Francis' Brian Esquival was surprised to find that their teams would be headed for the road for today's wild-card round. Crescenta Valley's Phil Torres and Flintridge Prep's Buzz Cook, however, shared completely contrasting views when they found out the first-round fortunes of their second-place squads. "We're really fortunate that we're not in the wild-card mix and we're fortunate that we're at home," said Torres, whose Falcons await a wild-card winner and will host a first-round Division II game on Thursday.

GLENDALE — Long roads and wild-card uncertainty lay ahead for the trio of local ballclubs that advanced to the CIF postseason. Crescenta Valley High, which had previously won the last seven Pacific League titles, is a bit of a fish out of water, beginning its postseason journey in the wild-card round and on the road. But while the Falcons may find themselves in a unique scenario, Flintridge Prep and St. Francis are pleased just to back in the postseason. “We’re just excited to be in the playoffs,” said Rebels Coach Buzz Cook, whose team travels all the way to Kern Valley for a Southern Section Division VI wild-card contest, making a return to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

TODAY GIRLS’ WATER POLO  Glendale at Carpinteria in CIF Southern Section Division IV first-round playoff match, 3:15 p.m.   COLLEGE SOFTBALL  Ventura College vs. Glendale Community College at Glendale Sports Complex, 2:30 p.m.   WOMEN’S TENNIS  San Diego Mesa College at Glendale Community College, 2 p.m.   WEDNESDAY ...

Rebels fall in wild-card round, 4-2, on the road The Flintridge Prep baseball team fell, 4-2, to L.A. Windward in Tuesday's CIF Southern Section Division V wild-card game on the road. The Rebels (10-11), which finished third in the Prep League, had no answer for Windward's Steven Page. Page, who improved to 9-1 on the mound thanks to a complete-game, three-hitter, also had a three-run home run in the first inning for Windward (15-5), the third-place team from the Liberty League.

LOS ANGELES - That the Holy Family High School softball team qualified for the playoffs is a victory unto itself. Considering there are no seniors on the Gaels' team and only one junior, that's a whole lot of freshmen and sophomores taking the field. Thus, there may indeed be a silver lining underneath Tuesday afternoon's postseason loss. “I know because I've seen it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year how they've progressed in so many ways,” said Holy Family sophomore shortstop Ginnes Paladini.

In the current state of CIF Southern Section postseason baseball, not even winning a league title is a guarantee for a first-round playoff home game. In the cases of Crescenta Valley High and Flintridge Prep, both teams shared titles in their respective leagues, but, fortunately for the Falcons and Rebels, they ended up on the right end of tiebreakers and will host first-round playoff games on Friday. As released Monday by the CIF Southern Section offices, the Falcons (20-7) will host Yucaipa or Great Oak in the first round of the Division II playoffs, while the Rebels (15-8)

Two local softball teams will participate in the CIF Southern Section playoffs after the CIF office unveiled its playoff pairings Monday. Crescenta Valley High and Holy Family will have little time to prepare for their postseason contests, as both the Falcons and Gaels will take part in wild-card games Tuesday. Crescenta Valley (14-10-1) will make the short trip to Pasadena to face La Salle (12-12-1) in a Division III contest at 3:15 p.m. Holy Family (6-14) will host Frazier Mountain (14-7)

BOYS' TENNIS Walnut 11, Flintridge Prep 7: A small 5-4 edge in singles play was not enough to carry the day for the visiting Rebels, who fell in the wild-card round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs Tuesday afternoon. “We probably should have won two more sets, but I think we still would have lost on games,” Flintridge Prep first-year Coach Hratchia Sargsyan said. “You have to give Walnut credit. They were a deep team.” The loss caps an 8-8 season for the Rebels, who finished third in the Prep League.

LA CRESCENTA - With a full squad, the Crescenta Valley High boys' tennis team felt confident it could compete in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. Unfortunately, the Falcons were without one of their top players in Patrick Meserkhani for Tuesday's wild-card matchup with visiting Redondo Union, a Bay League at-large entrant. Crescenta Valley Coach Sam Hyun, who is in his first year at the helm, had to switch players around and saw his unforeseen new lineup affect the team's strategy negatively in a 16-2 season-ending defeat.

For a second season in a row, the Hoover High boys' tennis team finds itself in the CIF Southern Section playoffs and the Tornadoes find themselves with a daunting task. Hoover is set to face Harvard-Westlake, the third seed in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs, in the first round on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Elsewhere in Division I, Crescenta Valley will host Redondo Union in Tuesday's wild-card round, while Flintridge Prep, in Division II, will travel to face Walnut in a Division II wild-card matchup.

Penalty-kick situations didn't occur during the regular season for the Glendale High boys' soccer team. The Nitros encountered their first test Wednesday afternoon in the CIF Southern Section Division V playoffs. Glendale passed the examination with a 0-0 (4-3) wild-card win against host Garden Grove Pacifica. Glendale (7-10-1) will meet top-seeded El Rancho in a first-round road match scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday. “It's something that's all mental,” said Glendale first-year Coach Artur Aghasyan, who saw Avo Haroutunian end the suspense with a goal that just eluded Pacifica goalkeeper Scott Dutton's fingertips inside the right post.

Having left a string of lopsided Pacific League wins and impressive nonleague triumphs over highly-ranked foes in its wake, Crescenta Valley High's girls' water polo team was expected to be the No. 1 seed when Sunday's CIF playoff pairings were announced and the Falcons were just that. The Falcons will host a wild-card entry in Wednesday's first round, while Glendale, the third-place finisher out of the Pacific League, will travel to face fourth-seeded Redlands East Valley. Buoyed by a balanced squad that's offense has been equally impressive as its defense, the Falcons are led by the likes of Shannon Hovanesian, Elissa Arnold, Katie Benson and Breana Lawton.

Prior to the season beginning, Glendale High girls' tennis Coach Bob Davidson said he would have the most inexperienced team he's had since taking over the program 17 years ago. Being unproven, Davidson also said the Nitros might be in line to grab a playoff spot. He proved to be right. Unfortunately for Glendale, its playoff run was short-lived as it suffered a 16-2 road loss against Ayala in a CIF Southern Section Division II wild-card match Tuesday afternoon. “Our goal coming in was to just make the playoffs and we got that done,” said Davidson, whose team finished 7-9 after taking fourth in the Pacific League.

Heading down the stretch in the regular season, the Crescenta Valley High girls' tennis team gained steam by turning to its doubles pairings for crucial points. They came through again for the Falcons on Tuesday afternoon during a CIF Southern Section Division II wild-card road match against Fullerton. Crescenta Valley won eight of nine doubles sets, including sweeps from Viktoriya Shumakova and Jackie Dilanchyan and Sarah Oh and Angela Seo en route to an 11-7 victory. Crescenta Valley (13-5)